CAFOD response to EU Council announcement on climate finance
Liz Gallagher, CAFOD’s head of climate finance, said: “Whilst the EU has shown its hand first among developed countries on the scale of public finance offered, developing countries will be no better off. Without the EU’s firm commitment to offer this money on top of aid pledges, the figure is meaningless.
“The €2.4bn pledged to poor countries to act now on climate change is mostly old money lifted from the aid pot and dumped into the one labelled climate change. Without long-term finance being in addition to existing promises, we are going to see larger annual sums biting into the aid budget. Developing countries will not stand for this.
“Heads of state arrive in Copenhagen next week and with them they must bring a mandate to agree additional public finance for the poorest. Without this, EU leaders will be remembered for having had the chance to put in place mechanisms to secure a future for the poorest but instead chose to sell them down the river.”
For further information:
Pascale Palmer at Copenhagen +44 7785 950 585 ppalmer@cafod.org.uk
